A Blog Not About Tariffs… (Except When It Is)
🏡 Boring Mortgage News
Okay, I lied…
Chaos.
Some things enjoy sunny weather, like flowers and my mental health. Some things enjoy baked goods, like my kids and my mental health. And some things like chaos. Complete and utter chaos.
Like the mortgage rate market and my mental health.
The President’s decision to slap tariffs on the world (including penguins) has caused stock markets around the globe to tumble like a poodle on wooden floors for the last three days, and mortgage rates are lapping it up. The main movers of mortgage rates (30-year mortgage-backed securities and the 10-year treasury yield) have abruptly adjusted in a downward trajectory for residential mortgage rates.
Remember, when it comes to mortgage rates: Economic turmoil= improved interest rates.
Think back to the COVID years. There was a global pandemic, and people were laid off en masse. Rates plummeted.
This is no pandemic, however this is throwing up a lot of economic disaster flags.
🤔 Should I Buy a House?
I recently listened to a podcast where the host—a mortgage expert—was asked if now is a good time to buy.
His answer? No.
*gasp*
Not because housing prices are going to fall or because rates are going to go even lower. Not because the economy might crash (these are all rumors at this point, we had a good jobs report on Friday, 04/04).
But if you need to be convinced to jump into the market, it’s an indicator that you haven’t sat down with a mortgage professional (*Cleveland slowly raises his hand) to review your budget and how much you’ve saved up for down payment and closing costs.
I always say: If you’re uncertain about the housing market and plan to move within 6 months of buying your home, maybe you should wait it out.
But if we’ve talked, the payments make sense, and you won’t be house poor or unable to buy toilet paper (due to not having money, not panic buying), then let’s jump in and start building wealth through equity.
Also, use a realtor. Those people are in the market every single day. They know exactly what’s coming on the market and how to navigate these waters. I could try to work on my diesel engine and maybe (doubtfully) not mess anything up, or I can take it to my diesel mechanic.
Yeah… that’s a good idea.
📰 Less Boring Mortgage News1
While hopping into the passenger seat of a rally car for a day, I looked out the window and saw that interest rates for a conventional loan were now in the mid-6% range.
Here’s the website where I get my info: HousingWire. It also has some interesting articles.
Reminder: That’s a national average. Rates vary by down payment, credit, property type, occupancy, and loan program. Want to dive deeper? Holler at me.
1Source: Mortgage News Daily. This is not a commitment to lend and does not guarantee the availability of any particular product or interest rate. Rates/terms illustrated may not be available through BankSouth Mortgage.
